Providence - Vineyard

In The Vineyard

As Australia’s oldest close planted vineyard, we prune by hand and vines are meticulously vertically shoot positioned (VSP). Planting densities range from 6700 to 10000 vines per hectare. With close planting the growth of the vine is moderated due to proximal vine competition. Each vine is therefore producing a well-defined crop of 300 to 500 grams of intensely flavoured fruit that equates to approximately ¼ to ½ a bottle of wine per vine.

The Start Of The Season

At Providence we study the site to understand the site to express the site.

It is widely understood that Jean Francois Miguet chose the site, now known as Providence, based on soil temperature readings. I believe that was with good reason in that soil temperature dramatically influences the start and therefore the length of the growing season.

The commencement of root growth activity significantly influences the number of ‘growing season days’ and therefore harvest. Root activity commences about 4 weeks prior to the commonly used phenological indicator known as budburst.

Based on soil temperature probes sited at Providence I believe root growth initiation commences as we exit the winter chill in August and the soil temperature in the root zone rises above 10 centigrade. So at the time of budburst, in the back-half of September, the soil temp has already increased to 11° C.

Seasonal rhythm and vine care

Every activity in the vineyard is guided by the winemaking imperative and the rhythm of the season dictates the timing of all vineyard operations. The objective in managing the growing vine across the spring and summer season is such that as the shoots extends beyond the top of the post so the vine enters a phase where growth slows and then stops and so the vine turns its attention to ripening its crop. Thus across the season vines are manually trained vertically on a trellis that is designed so that when shoots reach the scientifically proven optimal length of 16 mature leaves and the shoot tip has extended ~ 200mm above the top of the post. Most importantly, at that time, the shoot also stops growing.

Harvest

Experience has shown the ideal picking window across the varieties is 240 to 255 days post the 10°C root-growth initiator. There are other widely recognised and used seasonal indices such as HDD (Heat Degree Days) or HS (Heat Summation) and these are the go-to measures. Nothing beats walking around and tasting grapes and following the progression of the various ripeness indicators such as pip colour transition from green to hazelnut, skin tannin maturity and softening and sugar accumulation. As harvest approaches all of the above are surpassed by tracking flavour development and peaking and this is where the experience of many season’s past.

The Climate

Canopies are kept to a maximum thickness of 300 mm and bunch areas are progressively exposed at veraison. Cropping levels were hotly debated with Dr Richard Smart, the flying vine doctor. That resulted in a series of thinning trials being set up by Richard and me at Tamar Ridge vineyard to determine whether or not thinning has any effect on the levels of fruit ripening. The result surprised both of us, indicating that grapes ahead in ripening at veraison were not necessarily the ripest at vintage!

The Vines

Pinot Noir is currently 100% D5V12. We originally thought that some vines we purchased in 1985 were the clone MV6 but they were also D5V12! Chardonnay is I10V1 and Penfolds. The Riesling clone is unknown.

Trellising is a mixture of vertical shoot placement (VSP) and Carbonneau open lyre. Vine spacing in the VSP is 1.0 and 1.25 metres and row pacing is 1.5 metres. The open lyre spacing is 3.5 metres between rows and 1 metre between vines. Post angle is 22.5o.

The soil

Jean Francois may not have realised at the time that this parcel of land was located on one of two very narrow ‘cigar shaped’ strips of the prized PERMIAN period geological formation & stratum that exist in Tasmania. This is the same geological strata that is the foundation of many of the famed limestone based vineyards of his homeland’s Bourgogne (burgundy) where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive and produce wines often lauded to rise from divine intervention.